* Memorial Day

Good Monday Evening.. I am hoping everyone had a long weekend that was as equally relaxing and fun as ours was.

Where'd you go? What'd you do?

I hope to be back in the next day or two to recap our fun weekend at the lake and to also finally get some info up about our big reception party that was waaaaay back on 5.15 {kind of waiting on the photos from CT Ryan}

Anywhoooo- enjoy the rest of Monday and cheers to a short work week ;)

photos/Edits by {ME}

MD text by {source}

* SATC2

Did a little MMM {midnight movie madness} tonight...Sex and the City:2 was great! I had a special appreciation for the plot with being newly married myself.... {insert smile here} Favorite scene had to be the 80's flash backs! haha
Good Movie pick Bridget, next MMM- "Eat Pray Love" with Julia Roberts later this summer?? The book, "eat pray love" was a great read for me back in 2008.

* AI: Season 9

Tonight on the S9 finale of American Idol- I would love to see the winner be:But after last night and the bad songs that he was assigned {??} I don't know if he will get it...

But serioulsy now, Lee... HE IS SO GOOD!

If in fact he does not take the Idol cake tonight- I know he will do great and make something of himself anyway. Now Bowersox, on the other hand, her coffee house singing can go somewhere...

If you remember last year I was pretty upset about the shows outcome when Adam Lambert took 2nd place to {i am drawing a blank here....} OH YEAH Kris something.... kris allen...

But sometimes coming in 2nd place- isn't so bad.... Good Luck TO LEE TONIGHT!

You know who I voted for, who'd you vote for?

* Tuesday Tenies: wk 4

With all this HOT HOT weather and so SOON how could I write about anything but SUMMER!?

Also... this is my first summer in 2 years that I haven't had to share it with school work & interning- yessssssss!

So here it is, plain and simple- 10 things I love about summer!

• the sun {you know that feeling of summer heating the top of your head, shoulders and back? yeah... I love THAT!}
• flips flops {the sound "flip flop, flip flop", the feel "being comfy and letting my toes be free!"}
• tan lines w/ some SPF of course {i am all about instant gratification}
• grilling {mainly burgers and kabobs, mmmmmmm}
• swimsuits {i have WAY too many for being someone that never goes in the water!}
• spiked lemon/limeades {ever tried UV blue and Limeade? mmmm}
• having the windows open {and AC when it's TOO TOO hot}
• having a sun roof {and letting it be open with the sun shining down!}
• weekends at the lake {with nowhere to be and nothing to do...}
• being poolside with a good book {and soaking up the sun}

♥ {so glad summer has made an early arrival this year}

* TWO!?

To one of my favorite little girls...

{nabbed this picture from BFF Brittany's facebook-

I was great seeing these two at our reception on the 15th} miss them tons!

* looking up

Last night I noticed this above me in the sky...

I was inspired to post these pictures of me {looking up} after seeing Jayme's neat post for today.

if only the dandelions had a camera as well...

* Birthday Buds

Dear Me... "I am 28 and feeling great!!"

Dear Chicken... "You're now 29 and lookin' fine!"

After softball last week on the GREATEST DAY EVER {5.18.10} Kevin and I asked our friends to join us at El Loro's for a little bit of Mexican. It tends to be the trend with us... but what can we say- we just love chips, cheese, salsa & margaritas!!

Thank You friends-

for joining me {us} to help celebrate an awesome low-key evening.

* "2, 4, 6, 8..."

"...who do we appreciate!?"

Softball Season is back into full swing!

I was able to attend the games last week and joined by some great company.

Check out this adorable little cheering section!

These are three of the cutest May Bday boys I know!

Trey & Ty celebrating Bdays on 5/1 & 5/11 and Logan on 5/15!

"Hip Hip Hooray!"

* Schlomka Services Whoop Whoop!

Quick shout out...

Our new website is up and running! click here to check it out {hurry, it's good!}

I REALLY like how it has turned out- and best of ALL- we {schlomka's} also have a blog!!

yessssss another blog for me to write!

Anyway, check out the website, check out the blog- and most importantly- help spread the Schlomka love and follow that blog too ;)

Let me know what you think as well!?

* Peek-a-Boo

Can you believe that this cool dude, right here, is 11 months old today!?

I can't!!

It's hard to believe that he will already be ONE YEAR OLD next month...

my oh my...

* Tuesday Tenies: wk 3

With this week's Tuesday Ten{ies} falling on my BIRTHDAY!!

I thought I would quickly share

10 GREAT things that happened this past year."At age 27, I..."

• Became an Auntie to the cutest little nephew known to mankind! {6.19.09}
• Celebrated being engaged for a whole year! {7.4.09}
• Went on a road trip to Texas... {August 2009}
• {we} house hunted like it was my JOB! {Aug09-Jan10}
• Finished my Masters! {12.15.09}
• {we} Found {three} houses / {we} Put an offer in on the {three} houses {12.31.09}
• {we} FINALLY bought THE house! {2.5.10}
• GOT MARRIED in CABO! {2.20.10}
• Strengthened important friendships.
• Had a REALLY great party to continue the Cabo wedding day celebration! {5.15.10}

♥ {And now... on to being 28!}

* Our Wedding Video

I thought I would share our wedding video here on our everyday blog. Check out the {soon to retire} wedding blog for additional details on my process of creating the video.

It was so fun putting this together... I spent a couple of nights on this and I am a HUGE fan of Animoto, they do a great job at bringing photos to life.

I don't know about you, but everytime I watch this it makes me want to book a flight back to Cabo with a wedding dress as my carry on!

Enjoy!

* And the Winner is....

I have been answering the question:

"So did you win the bathroom contest!?!"

with a happy:

"No... I did not..."

But it's ok, I am not mad about it for a couple of reasons:

1. The winner {Monica} was NOT expecting to win... and she was NOT a hater- it was very clear that she won fair and square- she thought you had to have most votes and the highest rating. She had all of her co-workers, at a big company, vote for her on the last day of voting.

2. The {other} grand prize winning bathroom was also pretty darn ugly {it was the blue and green wallpaper/blue carpet bathroom} she didn't have the most votes at all... but the staff picked hers because it was so hideous... but personally {yeah, my bathroom is liveable BUT I had the most votes from day one up until the last day, before Monica stole the show, so the staff should have been more in tuned to that} but oh yeah... anyway, I am not mad about it, really I am not! haha

3. AND with this VERY NICE store giving $3000 for the allowance/prize... I am afraid {even with how small my bathroom is} the allowance of $3000 wouldn't have gone very far anyway.

SO even without winning- all of my hard work did pay off in the end. I still managed to pull off 2nd place prize which was $500 in the store. As you can see in the picture, I was testing out my future purchase... a toilet! Can't wait!

Thank You to EVERYONE that voted and HELPED me get votes!

I had fun with this.

* sad face

Well... looks like I will not win that bathroom after all. BUT I will be going to the event to check out what is really going on. Aaron has a theory of how these things are rigged- I agree now that I take a step back and evaluate how things have spanned out. I am not trying to be a poor sport about this... but really- how is it fair for the contest to say "closed, check back to see who won" making MOST people think that voting is over?

THEN when I realize that voting has not ended... well then- naturally, I head out and ask for more votes, only to find that 2 times out of 5- voting isn't made possible, meaning the site literally will not let some {some, not all!} people vote.

AND THEN... 2 bathrooms come out of no where and get 200+ in a matter of a couple hours bumping me to 4 {maybe even 5th place} when I have been #1 for the past um... month, since day one.... It just doesn't seem right.

Oh well.

My effort is what counts, I suppose.

I will be back tomorrow with an update and to share what it is that I might actually receive after all of my hard work. Thanks to EVERYONE that DID vote, it would have been sweeeeet!

stay tuned...

* HELP!!

HAVE YOUR VOTED FOR MY BATHROOM YET!!??

I only ask because I have mislead to believe that the bathroom voting has been closed- but IT most certainly IS NOT!

SO. It's very important, that if you HAVE NOT VOTED YET.. to please... please... head to think link: http://www.bathroomcontest.com/index.php?option=com_joomgallery&func=detail&id=140&Itemid=9

AND VOTE!! {pretty pretty please} if you HAVE VOTED {thank you, of course} but try and find someone that HAS NOT.

Tomorrow night I will be attending the event with hopes of finding out that YES I have won!!

Help me be the winner! Pass onto anyone, I PROMISE that this will be the last time I beg for your vote- hahahaha!

Tuesday Tenies: wk 2

I haven't posted a recipe "how-to" in a while... so I thought I would use this week's Tuesday Ten{ies} to do just that!

This past Sunday for Mothers Day, I whipped up a REALLY great dessert from a cookbook that I recently received at my last wedding shower.

So as I sat to page thru my book for a dinner dessert idea- I came across these! Besides my asparagus kick- I am also hooked on Oreos- yummmmmm!!! So I HAD to make these:

I was rather impressed when my actual dessert {as seen in picture above} turned out looking EXACTLY like the picture. These were SOOOOOOOOOOOO good!! I highly recommend making them. To mix it up a little bit, my next batch will be sans chocolate and I will try them in regular cupcake size with regular size Oreos. {mmmm can't wait!}

Here I will share 10 easy steps to make a batch of your own!

1. separate mini Oreos into halves {crush a hand full as well and set aside}


2. line mini muffin pan with a mini cupcake paper and put one Oreo half on the bottom and one for each side {for a total of five halves each bite} **Oreo imprint should face outward


3. melt 4oz of semi-sweet bakers chocolate in the microwave {stirring every 40 seconds until fully melted, then set aside until ready for use}


4. mix together 8oz cream cheese, 1/4 sugar, 1 tsp vanilla {mix until creamy}


5. add 1 egg {mix well}


6. add melted chocolate and 1/2 of your handfull of crushed Oreos {mix}


7. scoop mixture {steps 4-6} into mini Oreo cups & sprinkle remaining crushed oreos on top


8. bake @ 325 for 18-20 minutes


9. remove pan from the oven and let it set for 10 minutes


10. remove bites from pan and let bites cool completely before chilling for 1 hour!
    

enjoy!

* "Appy" May Cooking

Class tonight was all about appetizers.

Now, one might seem to think "pfff- apps are easy"... and what could be so hard about the same old, same old? You know, things like; Artichoke dip, chips and salsa, buffalo chicken dip- etc... THOSE are all good, BUT cooking class always seems to put a twist on things and everything that we create is anything but that same old, same old.

At cooking class we always learn how to make some thing so different, unique and surprisingly super easy!! and the bonus... it's ALWAYS tasty!

These three aps are sure to impress any guest! The rainy evening kept class pretty small {which just meant more to eat for everyone!}

The menu included 3 items and a dessert {1}Chicken Potstickers {2}Shrimp Wonton Cups {3} Asian Lettuce Rolls/wraps & Strawberry Vanilla Dessert Rolls/puffs {mmmm... I am still thinking about everything and how good it was, yummy!}

We ended the evening sharing a bottle of a new Vino favorite and a lesson on how to tell a sweet bottle of wine from a dry one. Have you every tried Snap Dragon Chardonnay? & Do you know how to tell which bottle of wine is going to be a sweet one and not dry??

Great cooking class ladies! Maybe next time I will be on time and I will be able to get my hands wet ;) See everyone again next month!

* Vote4myBaThRoOm {update}

Just a little update on the progress of the Voting For My Bathroom!

If you see me on facebook you know that things are going well for moi'

Currently, of 99 bathrooms, I am still number #1 with 349 votes!

Also if you have been following me over the past {almost month} you are seeing me post status updates about the bathroom that include things like "Boo bathroom haters" & "log in to leave me a nice comment" etc... That would be due to A LOT of trash talk from all the bathroom haters, hehe

The trash talk coming my way has been both funny and amazing to me {i guess that comes with being #1 huh!?} it's ok... it's funny that people think I am going on to vote for myself everyday with a new email. Really, if I were to create 350 random emails just so that I could win- then I would expect a great prize! haha {p.s. HONESTLY- I have only voted for myself three times- one for each email i have yahoo & both hotmails. I would do it for my gmail account if only i could remember the password}

Lana pointed out that I will need to be present to win/claim my grand prize. Sheesh... I missed that detail- all my hard work of telling EVERYONE and their mothers and dogs to vote would have been wasted!

SOOooooo I am needing to take a couple of hours from my hectic week to head on down to Inspiration Design Center in Burnsville, MN with Mom {aka my bodyguard} to celebrate with wine, apps and hopefully not a beatdown! hahaha

Anyway, here's to hoping someone isn't plotting and planning to spend a night creating a bajillion emails in order to get out ahead and end up winning at the last minute... thanks for all the votes past and future

{only 4 days left!} go vote here!

* Mi Madre

Happy Mother's Day to ALL the Mom's out there... new Mom's, old Mom's, young Mom's, pet's Mom's, soon-to-be Mom's, grandMom's, MOG's {aka Mom in-law's} & any other Mom I missed!

Today My Mom... first spent the day enjoying the gift of time with Jamie and little cutie pie, grandbaby, Gaby {like I need to tell you who he is... right}

After a great afternoon with Jamie and Gabriel, Mom then headed on over to our house for dinner. She had a couple of options to pick from for dinner and decided to go with Cheeseburger Salad- yummmm! I spent the morning running errands and doing a little bit of shopping. Once home I put Mom's mother's day gifts together and got to making dinner and dessert. We planned to be having dinner at 6pm but didn't get to the table until after 7-ish...

Mom- I hope your day was as Fabulous as you are!

I am the person I am today because of you.... soooo I guess that means that I am pretty darn fabulous as well, right??... Well not as fab as you but I can sure try ;)

I love you Mom!

* New Mom

Remember me mentioning happy mother's day to "New Mom's"?

Well this is a quick post for a favorite new mom that I know...

Jamie- I hope your 1st Mother's Day was wonderful. You are so great with Gaby Baby, he's lucky to have you for his mommy!

I always love the pictures you are sending, they are always so cute and will always brighten up my day. I do have to say that this picture below is still one my all time faves of the two of you together:

{Oct2009 send via phone ♥}

Happy Mother's Day Sister!

* Spring Cooking

VERY late post {soooooorrrrryyyyy!}... but better late then never, right!? {this will be quick- mainly a post displaying pictures and food names}. At the very least, class was awesome like always- and once again the next class is already this week! The Menu: {1} Asian Chicken Wonton Cups {2} Pork Lo Mein {3} Beergaritas {4} Teriyaki Chicken Wings {5} Asian Pepper Steak {everything was simply delicious!}


April's POM sparked interest in having an appetizers class- so that will be what's next for May Cooking Class, see everyone on Tuesday!

the need...

... for a shopping spree!

Aaron was out of town for another buddy's bachelor party this weekend. Although I was busy working and running around trying to get things in order for next weekend- I felt {the need...} to treat myself to a little {shopping spree}.

I spotted this watch in a recent mailer sent out to us here at 8890, and have been dreaming about it since... {well that was until I bought it on Saturday!}

{pretty huh? You can also get her in clear and pink}

Then on my way out the door from my little shopping spree, I thought... "hmmmmm I need me some jeans"- making a hard right I ended up in the jean section- and well whatdaya know, I actually found a pair that I like, love and they fit!
Is it wrong that I love new things?

* Baby Bunker

Without knowing if Baby Bunker will be a Boy or a Girl it's definitely time to start celebrating the much anticipated arrival with baby showers! Yesterday I was in attendance to Melissa and Baby's 1st shower. It was a great shower, low key with great food and good people. It was nice being able to catch up with Melissa- I feel like I ONLY see her while she's behind the bar at The Blue Heron {BH}!She is doing great, looking great and I think getting ready for her July 5th due date to get here.

After lunch, games {super fun and cute game}, gifts & cake I was able to snap a couple pictures of Momma Bunker To-Be, and then I was off to work- she too had to work at 6... at the BH, imagine that!

Thanks for the invite Melissa- I look forward to meeting Baby Bunker {boy or girl}... and you know that Aaron knows... the baby is {without a doubt} a boy!! Well, we'll see!

It's a BOY!

Tom, Sheina, Roman & Keira Torres welcomed their newest addition to the family Saturday morning. He looks to be just perfect! Talk about great time... he's the perfect Mother's Day weekend gift!Sheina is a good friend of mine from {forEVA} ago and I really mean forever! We date back to living in Newport, scary movies like Pet Cemetery and puff paint birthday parties.

Aaron and I were so lucky to have Sheina & Tom join us in Cabo to help celebrate our wedding... and actually Aidan as well, at 6 months!! Didn't she look awesome!?

Congratulations to the Torres Family!!

* Food Craze

I am one of people that get hooked on foods and love them to death... for about a week.

BUT as I get older or gracefully age... I am finding that I actually DO like veggies. Well let's not get crazy and say ALL veggies {still can't stand beans, baked especially} but right now... I can't get enough ASPARAGUS!

{image}

Yum it's sooooo good! I had some for dinner last night, I had it for lunch today... and I can't wait to get home to make it for dinner again!

Just thought I would share that random bit of info. Click {here} for some Nutrition Info on this green veggie.

What's your latest food craze? Was it something that you would turn your nose up to as a kid?

+ mexico +

obvee....

* Tuesday Tenies: wk 1

{and a day late} but with good reason...

My list of "To-Do's" keeps on getting longer and I have no time to get it all done... so I am a day late. With the wedding reception HOOPLA right around the corner, a MUCH NEEDED break of R & R took place this past weekend. Mom, Paul, Geoff, Aaron and myself all spent the weekend in Hayward at the lake. USUALLY opening up the cabin and the WI fishing opener is a "guys weekend"- but Mom and I were invited to tag along. Her and I stayed out of the way for the most part and let the boys do their thing. Although the wind kept temps a little chilly we still had a lot of fun. To show you how fun... I created a photo collage of all what we did at the lake. It's also the perfect insert for a Tuesday Ten{ies} list, right!?

Here are, 10 things we did at the lake this weekend:

• carried firewood {by that I mean Aaron & Paul filled my arms until I couldn't take anymore!}
• played games {BananaGrams, Rummikub & a few rounds of pool}
• cooked amazing breakfasts {day 1: egg in a bag & day 2: breakfast skillets}
• went fishing {Mom, Paul & Geoff tried to catch us dinner and caught NOTHING}
• read books {I finished one and made it halfway through another}
• grilled dinner {Geoff bought, grilled and served some delicious steak!}
• took naps {Paul felt the need to snooze before dinner on Saturday night}
• yard/lake/boat work {this included racking, tree trimming, picking up sticks, fixing boats and putting the dock in- good work boys!}
• started fires in the wood stove {Aaron may not have been in boy scouts, but 4H did him good!}
• experienced a weekend of 100% RELAXATION {loved not having to be anywhere or do anything for a couple of days}
  
  

♥

Looking forward to many more weekends

just like this over the next few months...